How to Stay Safe as a Pedestrian

How to Stay Safe as a Pedestrian

If you get hit by a car as a pedestrian, you will fully absorb the collision force because you are not wearing any protective gears like helmets, jackets, elbow pads, and knee pads. Worse, you may even land violently, hitting your head on the pavement or the fire hydrant, or breaking your arm as it hits on the curb.

The point is, pedestrians are likely to get the short end of the stick when a vehicle versus pedestrian collision occurs. According to the website www.thebentonlawfirm.com/fort-worth/, those who have been injured in pedestrian accidents may have legal options, but do you really want to go to hospitals and courts? No amount of money can give back the pain and suffering of traumatic head injuries, paralysis, amputations, and fractures.

Address visibility issues

Many pedestrian accidents have occurred just because the drivers could not see the pedestrians. To prevent this from happening, you should address visibility issues by making sure that there are no obstructions that are preventing others from seeing you before crossing the road. Such obstructions include parked cars, buses, and trees.

During nighttime, only cross on highly illuminated areas. It is also advisable to bring your own flashlight and wear reflective clothing.

Avoid being reckless

Avoid extremely reckless behaviors, such as walking around while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, crossing freeways, and crossing even though you do not have the right-of-way. There are other less risky behaviors, such as constantly being on your phone, using earphones and earplugs, and not staying on the sidewalk, but these behaviors are still dangerous in their own ways.

Look left, right, and left again

Remember that you are a piece of meat that can get plowed by a large piece of metal that is moving at a high rate of speed. Even if you have the right-of-way, always look around before even stepping into the road. There may be speeding drivers who will fail to brake on time or vehicles that will abruptly turn into the adjacent road.